Leadership Blueprints

The Question Every Business Owner Should Be Asking Themselves

Most business owners can rattle off their revenue, their pipeline, and their biggest headaches. Almost none can answer this one. What is the business actually doing to serve you in your life? Krystn Macomber asks her clients that before anything else. She's a fractional Chief Growth Officer who helps small government contractors stop chasing every shiny opportunity and actually build a strategy. In this episode, Krystn and BJ get into the BD curse of always saying "maybe we can win this," why the first year of her own business was the easy one, where AI actually helps in marketing and where it falls flat, and the rule she made about saying yes to the scary stuff. If you run a business or you're sitting in corporate thinking about leaving, this one has something you can use this week. Topics discussed: 00:00 - What fractional growth support actually is 01:46 - Who Krystn says no to as a client 05:15 - The business development curse 08:01 - How chasing everything burns out your best people 10:12 - Where AI helps in BD and where it falls flat 14:16 - Why the first year of business was the easy one 15:27 - The LinkedIn highlight reel needs to go 20:10 - Promoted to manage 25 people overnight 24:01 - The rule she made about saying yes to scary things 31:08 - The question every business owner should ask themselves Connect with Krystn Macomber: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystnmacomber/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/summitstrategywins/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summitstrategywins/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6BGAiN7JAN_RvI6K9mzAzA Website: https://www.summitstrategywins.com/ Connect with BJ Kraemer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/ Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224 This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com

The 2 Words Every Leader Should Say More Often

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter  Most leaders shut down ideas without realizing it. A "yeah but" in a meeting. A quick correction before someone finishes. The team quietly learns to stop bringing anything new. Will Dennis runs Unscripted Productions, an applied improv studio that trains Fortune 500s, hospitals, and schools on the fix. It comes back to two words. Yes, and. In this episode, Will and BJ unpack why "yes, and" is the most underrated leadership tool out there. What Nick Sirianni was secretly doing all Super Bowl run. Why one company tests emerging leaders on whether they hold the spotlight or stand in it. And the hardest line to sit with: a leader's real job is to work themselves out of one. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Why we're talking about improv, not AI 02:00 - Improv as the safest place to fail 05:00 - How "yes, and" turns down the heat in any room 14:18 - What Nick Sirianni was secretly doing all season 19:03 - The hidden test for who actually gets into the leadership program 24:23 - The most powerful sentence you can hear in a locker room 24:47 - A leader's real job is to work themselves out of one 29:24 - A boardroom hack any leader can steal tomorrow 34:27 - Rapid fire: books, the word sonder, and dinner with Adam Grant 38:55 - Why improv is not the thing you think it is Connect with Will Dennis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamjdennis/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unscriptedproductions Website: https://www.unscriptedproductions.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unscriptedprod Connect with BJ Kraemer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/ Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224 This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com

Championship Coach: Your Team Is Only as Good as Your Least Committed Person

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter [https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter]  Every leader has that one person on the team. The one showing up halfway. The one quietly setting the ceiling for everyone else. And most leaders tolerate it longer than they should. Matt Crispino refused to. After taking over the Princeton men's swim team, he inherited what his assistant called an opt-in culture, where the committed thrived and the disengaged got to coast. Matt blew it up. He made the team write their own core values, told the roster it was all in or out, and just won his second straight Ivy League championship doing it. In this conversation, Matt and BJ get into what it actually takes to raise the standard without losing your people. Why he had to coach against his own instincts to let the team have fun. How relationship building, not X's and O's, is the real work. And why the best coaches are the last line of defense for what sports are supposed to teach. If you lead anything, a team, a company, a family, this one is going to hit. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Why your least committed person sets the ceiling 01:00 - Launching the Friendly Strife Foundation segment 07:00 - Coaching at West Point in the shadow of war 10:00 - Realizing the job is bigger than coaching swimming 13:00 - Why sports is the most powerful leadership classroom 17:00 - Recruiting for culture not just talent 18:00 - Shifting Princeton from opt-in to all-in 20:00 - The five core values the team built together 24:00 - Why fun became their unlock for winning 26:00 - Coaching against your own instincts 27:00 - Trust and inspire over command and control 30:00 - How NIL and the transfer portal are reshaping coaching 32:00 - Why failure has to be a safe place to land 37:00 - Why they will not come to you if you have not built the relationship 43:00 - The legacy of a coach who cared Connect with Matt Crispino: Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mattcrispino/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-crispino-a26b5239/

The Leader Whose Impact Is Still Growing 20 Years After His Death

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter [https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter]  Every Memorial Day, BJ replays this episode to reset how he thinks about what it means to lead. Dennis Zilinski was his West Point classmate, swim teammate, and one of his best friends. Dennis was killed in action on November 19, 2005, at 23 years old. In this conversation, BJ sits down with Dennis's mother, Marion Zilinski (Mama Z), to talk about who Dennis was, how he led, and how his leadership continues to make an impact 20 years after his death. From his early instinct to serve and protect, to his decision to stay at West Point after 9/11, to the legacy his family built in his name, this episode is a reminder that real leadership shows up long before the title does. And its impact outlives the leader. Topics discussed: 00:00 - What leadership costs when stakes are life and death 01:00 - Reading the foreword from The Strong Gray Line 03:00 - Why this conversation matters for Memorial Day 07:00 - Dennis the protector and the young volunteer 09:00 - Handling failure with maturity beyond his years 12:00 - The decision to go to West Point 14:00 - Why Dennis refused to leave after 9/11 17:00 - Leading among 4,000 future leaders at West Point 20:00 - Choosing church over the party on post night 23:00 - The generosity Dennis built into his will 28:00 - The night of the knock at the door 39:00 - Building the Dennis Zilinski Fun 40:00 - Dennis's promise to go meet the parents 48:00 - How service dogs are saving veteran lives  55:00 - What Memorial Day is really about Connect with Marion Zilinski: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marion-zilinski [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marion-zilinski-84963836/]

She Had 4 Coaches in 5 Years. Here’s What They Taught Her About Leadership

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter [https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter]  95% of women executives and 95% of Fortune 500 CEOs were athletes. Yet, most kids leave sports before they even get to high school. This episode breaks down why more kids are walking away and how parents and coaches can work together to change it. Katie Lee, founder of All American AIM, has placed girls at college programs including West Point by coaching the whole kid, not just the athlete. She shares what good coaching actually looks like, why she's concerned about where youth sports is headed, and her advice for parents and coaches navigating it. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Introduction 03:34 - What coaches look for in tryouts 05:51 - Communicating with families 08:53 - Recruiting coaches that care 12:48 - The fine line between pushing hard and burnout 16:50 - Why athletes should play other sports 22:40 - Mental health on and off the field 25:09 - Youth sports infiltrated by big business 27:13 - The weight of being a coach 30:09 - All American Aim’s origin story 33:57 - The moments that make it all worth it 37:44 - Advice for new or aspiring coaches 40:56 - Mind Gym and mental skills training 44:29 - Katie’s mantra Connect with Katie Lee: https://allamericanaim.com/ [https://allamericanaim.com/]